It was going to be either me or my male colleague. That's a lie: It was absolutely going to be me. It was my last day at IFA, Europe's biggest technology show, and Brad Molen and I were sitting inside a sparsely decorated smart home that Panasonic had built in the middle of the demo area. Panasonic needed a volunteer to sit in front of its prototypical smart mirror, which applies digital "makeup" so you can sample new looks. I exchanged a look with Brad, imagining his bearded cheeks with blush on them. Then I sat down and agreed to let a machine tell me everything that was wrong with my face.Slideshow-220612

Phones, watches, TVs and in-car entertainment. Android has been put to work in many corners of our technological world. Now, it's reached another, less expected one -- mirrors. The Verge spotted itself the Smart Wash Basin prototype at Smartphone and Mobile Expo, and took a good look into it. The heavy lifting is done by a hidden Android tablet, and the reflective display is actually a separate monitor with a semitransparent piece of reflective glass. If you're thinking "smudges," hang fire, as RF proximity sensors are used, so you interact with it without smearing your paws across the shiny surface. The show prototype had water monitoring functions, and was coupled up to a set of scales in the floor. The manufacturer hopes one of the uses for the invention could be reading the news at the hairdresser. What we want to know is, when did salons suddenly go all futuristico?

Azentek apparently managed to get a few of its SmartMirror rearview mirror replacements out the door back in August, but that brief spat of availability promptly gave way to back orders and waiting lists, and no doubt a few disappointed customers. According to the company, however, it's now not only ramping up production of the GPS-packing mirrors, but promising that they'll be available at "major retailers" by the end of the year as well. In case you missed it the first time around, the $800 device crams a 4-inch GPS unit up alongside an apparently standard-sized rearview mirror, and it surprisingly doesn't skimp on too many features, with it boasting handsfree Bluetooth calling, a built-in speaker, text-to-speech functionality, and an SD card slot for expansion (a 2GB card is included). For some true redundancy, you can also use the mirror as a monitor for a rearview camera.